


In Harm's Way

by croskin8_7_1



Series: Moments vitae [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: BAMF Rodney McKay, Established Relationship, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 19:05:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11386485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croskin8_7_1/pseuds/croskin8_7_1
Summary: Rodney goes to Earth for a meeting and comes back to an injured John. Read to find out what happened to John AND...what happened to the person who hurt John.





	In Harm's Way

The instant Rodney stepped through the gate and didn't see John, he knew something was wrong. They had started the habit of meeting at the gate if one had to leave Atlantis without the other.

The only reasons John wouldn't be there were an emergency or because of injury. Since Atlantis' alarms weren't blaring and everyone was calm, it had to be the latter.

Rodney headed for the infirmary immediately, his worry making each step faster than the last. Once he reached it, however, he paused in the doorway. Teyla and Ronon were sitting watch over a sleeping John. Taking a calming breath, Rodney walked over to his team to assess the damage.

There were bruises covering the left side of John's face. The eye was swollen to the size of a golf ball. White bandages peaked out of the scrub top. His right foot laid on a pillow, covered in a cast from toes to thigh.

There was a small commotion as the door to Carson’s office opened and Carson came rushing into the room. “Sorry, sorry. I was hoping to catch you before you made it this far. Whatever you’ve seen, I promise it looks worse than it is.” 

"Why didn't anybody get me right after this happened?!" demanded Rodney.

"We had everything under control and John made everyone promise not to interrupt your meeting," Carson said.

"This is under control? My fiancé looks like a building fell on him!"

"Rodney, stop yelling. You'll wake John and he needs his rest to heal."

That stopped Rodney. He looked down at John.

Carefully so he didn't wake him, Rodney rubbed his thumb over John's unbruised cheek.

When Rodney looked up, everyone had already left. Deciding Zelenka could handle the lab for now, he sat down to wait for John to wake up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A noise drew Rodney's attention from John. Looking over his shoulder he found Ronon walking through the door. "How's he doing?"

"Still sleeping. Surprisingly, people on painkillers do that a lot."

"Did Carson say when he would wake up?" asked Ronon, taking a seat on John's other side.

"No. Why? It's not like you guys can go for your daily run when he gets out. He has a broken ankle and cracked ribs."

"I know that, I got him out of the rubble. I need to ask him about the accident, get his side of the story."

"What happened?"

"Zelenka said Kavanagh was messing with some weird device in the lab and when Sheppard tried to turn it off it launched him through-"

Rodney looked at him incredulously. "Why the hell was Kavanagh in the lab?! I assigned him waste system maintenance!"

"What?"

"I gave that idiot an assignment to keep him out of the lab until I was around to fix whatever mistakes the imbecile could drum up."

"Kavanagh said he knew what it was for, then things got out of hand and no matter what Zelenka tried, he couldn't shut it down, so he called Sheppard to shut it off," said Ronon. "They only radioed me after it happened to help move the heavier pieces of wall pinning him."

Rodney clenched his fists, trying to will the red from his vision. “What is Woolsey doing about this?” asked Rodney, pissed. 

“He wrote him up. You know how by the book he is.” Ronon expected the inevitable explosion of Rodney’s anger, but it never came.

Instead, Rodney stood, turning towards the door. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to do something. Call me if he wakes up.” Without waiting for an answer, he headed towards the labs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Even through all the chaos, it was easy to spot Kavanagh. The weasel was arguing with Lorne and Zelenka, and by the looks on their faces, he was once again talking out of his ass. Ignoring the questioning looks and greetings thrown his way he crossed the lab with a solid focus. 

The bastard turned to him with a sneer already in place as he approached, and Rodney reeled back without hesitation and put all of his strength into the blow. He knew he would only be able to get in a couple more punches and he made sure to make them count. Before he had gotten even a tenth of his anger out, Lorne and another marine pulled him off a bleeding Kavanagh.

He struggled to breathe evenly, pulling against the hands yanking at him. "What the fuck did I tell you about touching my shit?"

"I could have fixed it if Zelenka had just stayed out of it," Kavanagh said as he spit a mouthful of blood on the floor.

Rodney blinked, disbelieving. "I don't mean the machine you fucking idiot." Lorne started to pull him back again, but he raised a hand. "He got the message."

Once the two holding him loosened their grips he turned and headed out of the lab. Enough was enough.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Woolsey was bent over paperwork on his desk when Rodney unceremoniously barged into the room. "You want to explain why I filed several requests to have that piece of trash removed from the Stargate Program and yet, would you look at that, he's still here. In my lab. Causing not only millions of dollars worth of damage to an irreplaceable structure and hypersensitive lab equipment, but also, would you believe it, sending my fiancé through a damn wall."

Woolsey calmly set down his paperwork and looked up at Rodney. "I take it you are referring to Mr. Kavanagh. The IOA sent him back here, not me. Now that he has proven he cannot follow orders, he is being stationed in Antarctica. As for the damages, Dr. Zelenka has begun repairs and Dr. Beckett tells me John will be ok."

Rodney opened his mouth to argue that that wasn't the point when his radio went off, Ronon's gruff voice bringing the first bit of good news he'd received since getting back on base. "He's awake."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

John was sitting up and talking to Carson when Rodney walked into the infirmary.

When he noticed Rodney he turned to him and smiled. "Heya, slugger."

"You were asleep," Rodney said with a huff, "how did you hear about that already?" 

Carson coughed, and the two turned to him to see a poorly concealed smirk. "That would be due to a rather bloody Kavanagh being brought in a few minutes ago to be patched up." He was smiling openly then as he asked, "Should I take a look at your hand?"

Rodney waved off his concern. "I'm fine. How long will he have to stay here?"

"He'll need to stay here for a couple days," Carson said apologetically. "If you need me, I'll be in my office. Get some sleep, John." He offered them a final smile and headed back to work. 

John waited for the office door to close before turning to Rodney. "Rodney, what were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking?" Rodney said, taken aback, "I was thinking that Kavanagh almost killed you. I was thinking that it was about damn time someone wiped that smug look off that bastard's face. I was thinking that you were lying in a fucking hospital bed and there was nothing I could do because I wasn't there to stop it from happening and I needed to do something, dammit!"

John watched as Rodney slowly regained his composure, his breathing slowing and the red fading from his face. He reached for Rodney's hand and held it tightly, trying to will him to listen. "That's not your job, bud. You're a scientist, not an MMA fighter." Rodney huffed, annoyed at being lectured. "But, good job not breaking your hand. You use the technique Ronon taught you?"

Rodney scoffed, "The whole point was to hurt Kavanagh, not myself." He let out a conspiratorial laugh, leaning into John's side, "They're shipping him to Antarctica."

The two laughed and John squeezed Rodney's hand. When he met his eyes, he smiled. "Seriously, though. Thanks for sticking up for me. Not many people have done that for me." The levity was gone from his voice, and replaced with a sincerity Rodney was always taken aback by. "I love you."

Rodney swallowed, shaking his head to clear it. "You're lucky you're cute." He drew a deep breath and stroked his thumb over the back of John's hand where it still held tightly to his. "I love you, too. Now go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second story in my Atlantis series. Thanks to all who read, kudos, bookmark, etc. MAJOR! thanks to my sister who co-wrote this with me while knowing nothing of the show or characters except names. Stayed tuned for more to come! Enjoy!


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